Long before Minecraft arrived on the scene, Garry’s Mod was redefining the genre of sandbox gaming.

It was originally developed back in 2004 as a mod for Half-life 2, by Garry Newman. This is where the game gets its name.

One of the greatest strengths of Garry’s Mod is its compatibility with other mods and add-ons. The base game involves a sandbox physics simulator, where you can spawn in a variety of objects and models.

Using a physics gun allows you to manipulate objects in any way you desire. You can build vehicles, construct cities, or make almost anything you want. The only limit is your imagination.

However, the sandbox mode is just the beginning for Garry’s Mod. There are numerous add-ons and different game modes available to play.

Like most games, GMod is better played with friends - in this article, we’re taking a look at GMod server hosting.

Popular GMod Hosting

Private GMod Hosting Options

The simplest solution if you just want to play with a couple friends is hosting through Steam. To do this, simply start a new game, then invite your friends to join through Steam.

This is an easy option, but has a couple big drawbacks. Obviously, your friends will only be able to play when you have the game open. Additionally, this option is best for just a couple people, as it isn’t well optimized for large groups.

Alternatively, you can host your own dedicated Garry’s Mod server on your PC. One advantage of this is that a dedicated server tends to be more stable than the game itself.

So if your game crashes while hosting through Steam, your friends will be kicked. If you host a dedicated server though, your friends won’t be kicked unless the server crashes too.

Unfortunately, you’ll still need to keep your computer running constantly to keep the server up, although this takes much less resources than the game itself.

If you plan to host a public server for people other than your friends, make sure you are comfortable with DDOS protection and network security. Members of the Garry’s Mod community have been known to attempt DDOS attacks on servers.

We’ll go through a quick rundown of how to set up a dedicated Garry’s Mod server here, but you can also check out a full guide.

First, you’ll need to download SteamCMD. When the program is run, a command window will appear. After logging in, you can set the directory where the server will be installed.

Once installed, you can configure settings in the server.cfg file. After this, your server will be up and running, but others won’t be able to join.

To fix this, you’ll need to set your desktop up to port forward. After that, the server should be open, and you can install add-ons and textures as you please.

If this doesn’t seem like it’s in your wheelhouse, you can always rent from a server provider. While not free, hosting companies provide a variety of benefits.

How We Chose

Due to the nature of hosting providers, there are almost countless options available for rent.

Some renters are in search of the fastest servers, while others simply want a cheap option.

Because of this, we avoided selecting one best choice.

Instead, we have chosen 5 different providers that offer quality servers. We decided based on their cost, support, performance, locations, as well as other features we tested while using their service for GMod and a variety of other games.

If you’re looking for a great Garry’s mod server hosting option, then GTX Gaming is an excellent choice. This provider balances price, features, and hardware to deliver a smooth gaming experience.

GTX Gaming offers servers from 10-100 slots, for a very respectable $.62 per person. While not the absolute cheapest on our list, this pricing allows for quality servers for just a few dollars per month.

Offering almost 2 dozen server locations on all continents besides Africa and Antarctica, this provider almost certainly has your location covered.

Additionally, GTX offers free world back-ups, a free MySQL database, and a 24-hour refund period if you’re not satisfied.

In terms of hardware, their servers boast i7 processors, enterprise-class SSDs, and up to 5 GB of RAM free. If that’s not enough, the CPU speed and priority, memory, and hard drive are all upgradeable for an additional cost.

Also Great

PingPerfect

Game Servers

Not only do they have great servers and an awesome control panel, they also have an amazing support team. Their responsiveness and helpfulness absolutely blew me away, especially when compared to the other companies on this list.

You may want the ability to explore a variety of game modes within Garry’s Mod. Nitrous Networks offers the ability to do just that.

Their server control panel has a Mod Manager section which helps you easily install different game mods, add-ons, and textures. After that, simply creating a new command line allows you to run that game mode.

Besides the ease of access to different game modes, Nitrous Networks offers a variety of free add-ons.

These include a free web server, a free voice channel with slots equal to your server, and free Tebex Premium, a plug-in that helps you collect donations from players on your server.

Nitrous Networks offers GMod servers from 10 players up to 80, with each slot costing just $.50. This is a steal, especially considering all the add-ons included.

How to Choose Garry’s Mod Server Hosting

Firstly, you’ll want to look at the available player slots. Most companies offer servers for around 10-100 people. However, some have a lower maximum limit, so keep that in mind if you want a massive server.

Next, be sure to look at available server locations. The best hardware in the world won’t save you from lag if you’re across the world from the server. Also be sure to consider the location of other potential players.

After that, you can look at hardware and RAM specifications. For more information on RAM, check out the section below. If you want better performance, you can upgrade the server’s hard drive and CPU.

You should also check out security and convenience features. Free DDOS protection is a great addition, and game updates and server back-ups ease the server hosting experience.

If you’re not sure about a provider, those that offer refund periods are a great way to get a free trial.

How much does a GMod Server Cost?

Like choosing the server itself, the cost to rent a Garry’s Mod server depends greatly on your needs.

The cheapest servers for you and just a few friends can cost as little as $4-5 per month. This doesn’t include any upgrades or extra add-ons, however.

Once you begin including additional features, the cost quickly jumps. Higher performance servers with better hardware could cost around 20-40% more per slot.

If you want a large server with up to 100 players, expect to pay at least $50-60 per month, before including additional features.

How much RAM do you need for a Garry’s Mod Server?

Fortunately, Garry’s Mod servers require very little RAM to operate. In fact, playing the game usually requires much more RAM than running a server.

Being a much older game with lower-end graphics means that Garry’s Mod isn’t very resource hungry.

For a server with under 10 players just 300 MB of RAM will suffice. Even for around 30 players, 512 MB of RAM should be fine.

Around 50 players on a server utilizing a more intensive game mode (such as DarkRP) with multiple add-ons will require around 1 GB of RAM.

If you want to go all out, 2-3 GB of RAM should be enough for a 100-person server with all the add-ons you want.

GMod Mod Server Types

Game modes are user-created mods that change the nature of Garry’s Mod, giving it more structure and a stricter set of rules. In order to play, you’ll likely need to download the relevant textures and add-ons for the specific game mode.

Because of the freedom that Garry’s Mod provides, there are dozens of game modes available, and far too many to explain. We’ll just cover a couple of the most popular options.

Prop Hunt

Arguably the most popular game mode in Garry’s Mod is Trouble in Terrorist Town (TTT). This mode involves a group of innocents and some terrorists, usually around 1 to every 4 innocents. Additionally, there is generally around 1 detective per 8 innocents.

After being placed in the map and assigned roles, each group has its own objectives.

Innocents must try to kill the terrorists to win the round, but do not know who is a terrorist. The detective is an innocent with the ability to purchase special equipment and investigate the terrorists.

The terrorists know who the other terrorists are, and must attempt to kill all innocents without being found and killed. Whichever group survives wins the round.

Prop Hunt

Another popular game mode is prop hunt. This involves 2 groups placed in a map, hunters and props. The hunters cannot move or see for a short period at the beginning, during which time the props must hide.

Props have the ability to change into a variety of objects, such as barrels, radios, crates, etc. in order to blend in with the environment.

Hunters must attempt to find and kill the props, but if they shoot at an object that does not contain a person, they lose some health.

In order to win, hunters must find and eliminate all props within the time limit. If they fail, then the props win.

Death Run

The last game mode we’ll cover is death run. In this game, the map is an obstacle course filled with deadly traps.

Runners have to make it through the entire course without dying. However, the “death” or “killer” team sits behind a wall, viewing the progress of the runners. They have opportunities at various instances to trigger traps that will kill runners.

If the runners make it to the end of the course, they have the opportunity to fight the killers in a separate room. If the runners eliminate the killers, they win, and vice versa.

Of course, this is just a small fraction of all the available game modes. At least 20 exist in total.

All of these game modes are multiplayer, which means you’ll generally need a server to play on. There are many server options in the multiplayer section of Garry’s Mod, but if you want your own server, we’ll cover those options in the following sections.

Conclusion

Besides offering just an open sandbox physics simulator, Garry’s Mod offers the ability to play however you want, with a variety of different game modes. There’s a reason the game has been out since 2004 but is still widely played.

In order to make the most out of your game, multiplayer game modes require a server. There are many community servers, but they don’t afford you the control you may desire.

Steam hosting or setting up a dedicated server on your PC can be good choices, but are also limited. Having to keep your machine running constantly can be problematic.

Renting is not free, but offers a wide variety of options and features. Rented servers are open 24/7, and allow for any configuration from a small server with friends up to massive 100-person mob.